Industrie - actien - gesell



(No Model.)

RJ. CONSTAM an A; VON HANSEN'. PROCESS 0F MANUFACTURING PBRGARBONATES. No. 579,317.

Patented Mar. 23, 1897.

Maggy W f nl' UNrrnD STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EMIL JOSEPH CONSTAM AND ARTHUR VON HANSEN, OF ZURICH, SWITZER- LAND, ASSIGN-ORS TO THE ALUMINIUM INDUSTRIE ACTIEN GESELL- SCHAFT, OF NEUHAUSEN, SWITZERLAND.

PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING PERCARBONATES.

SPECIFICATION forming part 0f Letters Patent No. 579,317, dated March 23, 1897.

Application led September 4, 1896.'

To @ZZ whom it' 11i/ay concern,.-

Be it known that we, EMIL J osnPH ConsTAM, a citizen of the United States of America, and ARTHUR voN HANSEN, a subject of the Czar of Russia, and residents of Zurich, inthe Republic of Switzerland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of Manufacturing Percarbonates, of which the following is a speciiication.

Our invention relates to the manufacture of new chemicals termed percarbonates by electrolysis that are strong oxidizing and bleaching agents, that are cheaply and easily manufactured, and that have a strong and quick action.

We electrolize at 10o centigrade below zero or lower saturated aqueous solutions of the carbonates of the alkali metals or of ammonium ,forming at the anodes the percarbonates and at the cathodes hydroxids of' the metals of the alkalies or of ammonium.

The following is an example of the manner of forming our compounds: A solution of potassium carbonate saturated at l0? centigrade below zero is placed in a porous cell b with a platinum cathode c, and this cell and contents are placed in a beaker a, containing the same solution, and a platinum anode e, said electrodes being connected to the terminals d f of a source of electricity. The beaker a is then immersed in a freezing mixture in a suitable vessel g, so that the tem.- perature is reduced to about 16o centigrade below zero. We then pass a current from three to six accumulators through the solution, regulating the resistance so as to avoid a rise in the temperature, which is attained by using a current of three amperes, the internal potential of the bath being about five volts. After a short time a bluish amorphous salt is deposited in the compartment containing the anode, which is the percarbonate of potassium mixed with more or less carbonate and bicarbonate, is readily soluble in water at ordinary temperatures, and must be filtered and dried rapidly, and becomes almost white when dry. In preparing these substances the current density may be varied from one ampere to three hundred amperes per square decimeter of the anode-surface. The process may be carried out in practice Serial No. 604,884. (No specimens.)

without the use of a diaphragm, and electrodes of other material may also be used-as, for instance, nickel, amalgamated zinc, and the like. The new compounds thus formed are salts of percarbo'nic acids, having the following constitutional formula:

It is assumed that the salts dissolved in our highly-concentrated solutions are partially dissociated into the anions MCO3 (M representing an alkali metal or ammonium) and into the cations M, and that under the infini Potassium percarbonate is a strong bleachf ing agent, readily bleaching indigo, cotton, wool, silk, hair, feathers, cbc. and can readily be used in place of permanganate of potassium,peroxid of sodium, peroxid of hydrogen, persulfate of ammonium, ttc.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new therein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. A process for the manufacture of percarbonates, which consists in electrolyzing a saturated solution of a carbonate at a temperature below zero centigrade.

2. A process for the manufacture of percarbonates of the alkali metals and ammonium, which consists in electrolyzing a saturated solution of their carbonates at temperatures below zero centigrade.

3. As new chemical compounds, percarbonates of the alkali metals and ammonium,which are bluish-white amorphous substances, read- IOD ily soluble n Water at ordinary temperatures, and possess strong oxidizing properties, subof the following constitutional formula, stautially as described.

O M In testimony whereof we hereunto sign our C@ nziines, 1n the presence of two subscribing 5 \\O witnesses, this 11th day of August, 1896.

I EMIL JOSEPH CONSTAM.

ARTHUR VON HANSEN.

C18 lVitnesses:

O M MORITZ VEITH, 1o Il. RABBARD. 

